Relief pharmacists make bank$$$?

[Stroszeck]

I'm actually going to start dental school this fall, but I went to pick up my sister who works in a pharmacy and spoke for a few minutes to the relief pharmacist working that night and she told me some crazy stuff. We got into the whole salary issue and she said that as a relief, she works only 2 days a week and still pulls in $100K! (She spends the majority of her week showing horses or something -- its like her hobby!) ANyways, I was wondering, if this is so, then reliefs could make $200K if they work a four or five day week? That's like surgeon money.

This is in NOrthern California, by the way. Any comments? Now I wanna be a pharmacist!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I don't know about other places, but the relief pharmacists for Kroger in Ky (that is, they are permanent 40 hour/week floaters) make the same as store-based Kroger pharmacists.

I've heard of agency work that pays more.

 

[sdn1977]

Well....I'm in N CA & that seems pretty reasonable to me. We are in huge demand here.

My husband had 2 pharmacists in his dental class years ago who worked weekends only - those guys never took out any loans even then.

But...the guy who made the most money during dental school was the fireman - he started work Fri night, worked Sat & Sat night & got off at 6AM and was able to support his wife & 3 kids & still have all Sunday to work in the lab. Fortunately - he was at a slow station so he slept all night most every weekend.

 

[highlyfavored]

Well....I'm in N CA & that seems pretty reasonable to me. We are in huge demand here.

My husband had 2 pharmacists in his dental class years ago who worked weekends only - those guys never took out any loans even then.

But...the guy who made the most money during dental school was the fireman - he started work Fri night, worked Sat & Sat night & got off at 6AM and was able to support his wife & 3 kids & still have all Sunday to work in the lab. Fortunately - he was at a slow station so he slept all night most every weekend.

What is the "going" rate for relief pharmacists there?

 

[DrBowtie]

So in NorCal she lives in a box off of 100k?
You have to realize NorCal isn't a good representation due to the inflated cost of living.

 

[Shizelbs]

From what I've heard from agencies, 200k is not reasonable. YMMV.

 

[Stroszeck]

Well....I'm in N CA & that seems pretty reasonable to me. We are in huge demand here.

My husband had 2 pharmacists in his dental class years ago who worked weekends only - those guys never took out any loans even then.

But...the guy who made the most money during dental school was the fireman - he started work Fri night, worked Sat & Sat night & got off at 6AM and was able to support his wife & 3 kids & still have all Sunday to work in the lab. Fortunately - he was at a slow station so he slept all night most every weekend.

Wow, working 2 days a week and making $100 K a year. I still cannot get over it. Seems way Too good to be true...

 

[Stroszeck]

So in NorCal she lives in a box off of 100k?
You have to realize NorCal isn't a good representation due to the inflated cost of living.

I never said anything about her "living in a box," so I do not know where you came up with that one. I have no idea how she lives but I'm willing to bet she's got a nice home with all the "extras."

 

[DrBowtie]

I never said anything about her "living in a box," so I do not know where you came up with that one. I have no idea how she lives but I'm willing to bet she's got a nice home with all the "extras."

Well she must have extra income because a decent house there is ~ 1 mil +.
The point being 100k isn't great in that area.

 

[Pharmcdc]

Well she must have extra income because a decent house there is ~ 1 mil +.
The point being 100k isn't great in that area.

I think the point you are missing is that she only works 2 DAYS a week. You are right though about the cost of homes there. However, you dont know her situation to assume that she lives in a box. Obviously she has more going on for her if she only needs to work a couple of days a week. Thats making a 100K for working roughly 3.5 months a year---thats good no matter where you live.

 

[NguoiVN]

I bet she's not telling the truth. Maybe she's jealous you're going to dental school.

 

[DrBowtie]

I think the point you are missing is that she only works 2 DAYS a week. You are right though about the cost of homes there. However, you dont know her situation to assume that she lives in a box. Obviously she has more going on for her if she only needs to work a couple of days a week. Thats making a 100K for working roughly 3.5 months a year---thats good no matter where you live.

No doubt. I am just saying we're getting half of the story and supposed to be impressed.
However, it is poor decision making to use only NorCal area for your information. A more aggregate # would be more useful.

 

[Pharmcdc]

No doubt. I am just saying we're getting half of the story and supposed to be impressed.
However, it is poor decision making to use only NorCal area for your information. A more aggregate # would be more useful.

I totally agree.

 

[sdn1977]

Wow - kinda vicious!

Yes....a house on my street sold for 1 M - thats pretty standard in my community. People starting out don't buy houses in my neighborhood - you start small & play the equity game - the same thing I did 28 years ago. So...people starting out start by buying $150,000 condos & go up. And - where I live you absolutely need 2 incomes.

OK - the pay - yes....you can make a lot of money here. Relief Rxs are of 2 forms - those who work relief (floaters) for a corporation & those who work relief on their own or for an agency.

If you work for a corp & receive benefits....you'll get the same pay scale as regular pharmacists, but you'll be paid about 1% + driving differential (we live by our cars here). The 1% differential is for the short notice of having to work one day in one place then drive 75 miles the next day. They get benefits, altho prorated based on the number of hrs they work. Here, they get medical benefits for working avg 20h/wk. The differential is very dependent upon how many floaters there are available at the time. The summer ususally has more because there are more new grads.

Now...if you work freelance or with some agencies - they won't pay you benefits - now your differential goes up to 30% - that is what my benefits calculate out to be - medical, dental, retirement, disability, etc.....

Also, in CA - we are paid t-1/2 for over 8h & over 40h - if you work 5 days of 12 hr days - you are paid 40h straight time & about 12h of overtime, so are essentially paid for 60+ hrs. If you want to pick up a day or 2...that 6th day is all ot.

That being said....I don't know many pharmacists who work full time. After a certain point....your time is worth more than the money.

No....I don't live in a box (don't know if that comment was directed to me) Yes - we are a bizarre economy here, but healthcare folks are not the most highly compensated folks here - the big money is made on people employed in other industries who cash in stock - that is what drives housing. So...all the other industries (like pharmacy) have to compensate enough to make people want to live here, which is why our pay is higher - economics.

 

[SomeGuy]

Well, a number of points:

Firstly, 2 days a week can very well mean a total of between 24-30 hours. If traffic is bad, one would be smart to maximize their number of hours at work in each day so as to minimize driving time per week.

Secondly, "NorCal" is quite non-descriptive. I'm sure there are places where homes are not growing at the Orange County rate. And if the person in question is working only two days a week, they may very well spend ii-iii hours commuting each way to a high-cost area from their low-cost area (a very smart thing to do imo). Commuting can actually be quite rewarding financially if one is in a high income bracket and working as an independent contractor. If this person does spend a lot of time showing horses, my guess would be that they actually don't live in or very much near a downtown area.

Thirdly, and finally, the OP stated that the person pulls in 100k/yr, but didn't suggest that this income was exclusively from the practice of pharmacy. Rich beings like to buy nice show horses, and a number of these beings would be willing to spend good money on the right people to keep/showoff such horses in tip-top condition. Showing horses may very well be her primary occupation (in terms of hours/week commitment anyway).

 

[njac]

Thirdly, and finally, the OP stated that the person pulls in 100k/yr, but didn't suggest that this income was exclusively from the practice of pharmacy. Rich beings like to buy nice show horses, and a number of these beings would be willing to spend good money on the right people to keep/showoff such horses in tip-top condition. Showing horses may very well be her primary occupation (in terms of hours/week commitment anyway).

exactly. I'm curious who this is - I want to send her an e-mail. admittedly part of my motivation to be a pharmacist is being able to compete the horses at the level I want to. and $100K is pretty much chump change in many circles of the horse world. I'm single and child-free and live in a low cost of living area, I could probably achieve my horsey goals on that. but in West Palm Beach or Palo Alto? no way.

 

[Stroszeck]

First of all, let me make some things clear. I was NOT interested about her living conditions, or whether she enjoys breeding/riding or doing things with horses and what not. I JUST thought it was interesting that she pulls in $100K off 2 days during which she works 12 hours a day (roughly 24 hours a week) on the job. I do NOT have any idea where she lives or whether she moonlights or anything. I just thought that if a pharmacist can make $100k (mostly due to the overtime income of working over 8 hours) for 2 days' work, then surely $200k could be reasonable if they were to relief for 4 or 5 days. OF course, then they would be working almost 60 hours a week, but that is on par with many other professions, including, physicians, surgeons and, yes, even some dentists.

PS No, I do not think she was "jealous" of me for going into dentistry, why the hell should she be?

 

[bananaface]

Here in WA a relief agency might charge 90/hr and give the pharmacist 55/hr. If you want a good chunk of change, get some folks together and run a relief agency. Pharmacy pimping pays well.

 

[bananaface]

BTW, you'd have to pull 100/hr to make 200K/yr. Doesn't CA have some fat 40% state income tax?

 

[sdn1977]

BTW, you'd have to pull 100/hr to make 200K/yr. Doesn't CA have some fat 40% state income tax?

Nope - max is 9.5% (last I checked). I think we're talking gross - not net.

 

[bananaface]

Hmm. Someone I know chose NV over CA because of the "ridiculous" state income tax. That's odd.

I was thinking gross too.

 

[sdn1977]

Hmm. Someone I know chose NV over CA because of the "ridiculous" state income tax. That's odd.

I was thinking gross too.

Nevada doesn't have a state income tax at all, so perhaps all state tax to that individual is ridiculous.

 

[ZpackSux]

Income tax is graduated. This means when you move up in a tax braket, the higher rate of tax only applies to the income above the previous level.

ex. If federal rate is 30% at or above $150,000 and you made $160,000. Then you'll only pay 30% on the $10,000....

I believe Medicare tax caps out at $80,000 or $90,000..

I don't really keep up with it..but my wife is an accountant..she knows this stuff.

Texas does not have state income tax. Then again we pay for it in property tax.. you can combat this by buying a cheap house.


I believe maximum tax rate Fed + State combined is at 48% or so.. then again if you're making $150,000 to $250,000 per year..you're not really paying 48%... but it starts hit home when you're making significantly more.

 

[sdn1977]

9.5% is the maximum (over $83,500 gross, I think) for CA, which will include almost all CA pharmacists unless you only work occassionally.

To clarify....there are local taxes as well (both county & state) which varies tool. I don't think there are any counties that are above 12% (including state) though - at least my county is not (Santa Clara Co.) & we are in the highest tax bracket.

 

[ZpackSux]

9.5% is the maximum (over $83,500 gross, I think) for CA, which will include almost all CA pharmacists unless you only work occassionally.

To clarify....there are local taxes as well (both county & state) which varies tool. I don't think there are any counties that are above 12% (including state) though - at least my county is not (Santa Clara Co.) & we are in the highest tax bracket.

My goal is to pay more in taxes than most make in a year...

I will gladly pay 7 figures in income tax.

 

[bananaface]

My goal is to pay more in taxes than most make in a year...

I will gladly pay 7 figures in income tax.

I'll be your tax man. Make your check out to bananaface.